Some good news for the residents who mounted an impressive opposition to the council's plans to build a 10 storey school on this busiest of Bromley's junctions.  The Department for Education has announced that they have abandoned their plans to build a  school of any kind at 1 Westmoreland Road following failure of a planning appeal and opposition by community and residents' groups.  

The original plan to build a 10 storey secondary school for 1200+ pupils had its planning application rejected in 2017 and has gone through an appeals process in the last two years.  There were concerns that the Council supported a school on this site when it appeared in their school place strategy document in 2018 so the announcement by the DfE is welcome news - if there ever was a bad place to build a school this was it!   

The site will be sold and redeveloped and we'll be keeping a close eye on what the council proposes to build on this site.   But for the moment time to celebrate for the residents and community groups who worked so hard to make sure that the school wasn't built.  

We're facing unprecedented demands on our resilience as individuals and as a community during this Covid-19 pandemic.   It's important that we all take sensible precautions for ourselves and that we help each other whenever we can.

There are over 1,000 Lib Dem supporters in the Bromley Borough and we're all willing to support each other and members of the wider community.   So if you are self-isolating and need help with shopping, collecting post, prescriptions, a friendly phone call - or anything - email info@bromleylibdems.org.uk or call us on 020 3371 1415.  And don't worry - we won't mention politics!

We want everyone to stay safe so we have prepared these common sense guidelines for everyone volunteering or asking for help.  

We're also reaching out to local food banks who may need extra support - we'll publish more information here in the next few days. 

Communities and individuals across the country are joining the #viralkindness campaign - see this Guardian article for more information.      

The Bromley Lib Dems visited the Chiselhurst Caves this March

Bromley Council voted to increase next year’s council tax by 3.9%, voted to increase staff wages by 2.5% and voted to give the leader of the council, Colin Smith, a 25% pay rise. This is a slap in the face for council staff whose pay, in real terms, has declined over the past 10 years and which for many is below the London Living Wage.

EU nationals are leaving Bromley in a stark reminder of the impact of Brexit. And this shift in demographics may have unintended consequences.